George Ranch's Sarah Hudek shows baseball isn't just for boys

Sarah Hudek, center, a junior at George Ranch High School, is also a pitcher on the Longhorns baseball team.

Sarah Hudek, center, a junior at George Ranch High School, is also a pitcher on the Longhorns baseball team.

Photo: Jerry Baker, Freelance

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In the majors, they would call Sarah Hudek a crafty lefthander who relies on location and changing speeds to retire hitters.

In the majors, they would call Sarah Hudek a crafty lefthander who relies on location and changing speeds to retire hitters.

Photo: Jerry Baker, Freelance

Image 3 of 3

Sarah Hudek, center, a junior at George Ranch High School and a pitcher with the Longhorns, stays loose with teammates Kevin Kupps, left, a junior pitcher, and Gabe Rodriguez, right, a junior pitcher/outfielder, during a recent game. less

Sarah Hudek, center, a junior at George Ranch High School and a pitcher with the Longhorns, stays loose with teammates Kevin Kupps, left, a junior pitcher, and Gabe Rodriguez, right, a junior ... more

Photo: Jerry Baker, Freelance

George Ranch's Sarah Hudek shows baseball isn't just for boys

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Sarah Hudek tried softball when she was 10 years old, but it just wasn't for her.

"Softball was never really a thought in my mind," said Hudek, whose father, John, spent six seasons pitching in the major leagues, including four with the Astros from 1994-97. "I've never thought of anything different. It's always been baseball."

Hudek, a 17-year-old junior, is a lefthanded reliever on the George Ranch varsity. The Longhorns were district champions and ended the regular season ranked fourth in the state in Class 4A.

They beat Galveston Ball in the opening round of the playoffs, then swept Stratford in the second round this past weekend to advance to the regional quarterfinals.

She isn't one of the stars for George Ranch, having spent the previous two years on the junior varsity.

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Among her teammates is outfielder Stone Garrett, who has signed with Rice but should hear his name called early in next month's Major League Baseball draft. Grant Page (Stephen F. Austin), Will Gay (Alvin Community College) and Cameron Boudreaux (Ranger Junior College) have signed letters of intent; junior catcher Garrett Gray committed to Tulane.

But Hudek isn't on the team because she is a girl or because of her father's baseball pedigree. Like hundreds of other female athletes across the nation, Hudek earned her spot in a male-dominated sport and hopes it's a dream she won't have to abandon.

"I couldn't go back and think of a reason why she shouldn't be there," George Ranch coach Greg Kobza said. "She's prepared herself, and she works hard. I know inside and in her mind, she probably thinks she has to work twice as hard as everybody else because she's competing against guys, but I tell you what: She's stuck with it, and she's done a heck of a job."

During the regular season, Hudek was 1-0. She gave up eight hits in eight innings, struck out 11 and walked five while compiling a 2.25 ERA.

Title IX was passed into law in 1972, requiring gender equity for boys and girls in any education program or activity that receives federal funding. That set in motion a rise in girls sports.

Twenty-two years before that, Kathryn Johnston tried out for Little League in Corning, N.Y. She dressed as a boy, cut her hair and tucked the rest under a hat, signing up as "Tubby" Johnston.

After confessing, Johnston remained on the team. When she turned 13 and was no longer eligible, Little League established the "Tubby Rule." Girls weren't allowed to play.

That rule stood until 1972.

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In 1981, the Philamath (Ore.) School Board allowed Tami Maida to play football. She split time as the junior varsity quarterback, and her story was later the basis for the movie "Quarterback Princess."

According to survey results collected by the National Federation of State High School Associations, 276 girls participated in baseball in Texas during the 2012-13 school year.

Girls in 26 states played, with Texas second only to California (448).

Results for this school year have yet to be collected, but in 11-man football in 2012, there was one girl playing for every 710 boys across the nation and 196 total in Texas.

One was Pasadena Memorial kicker Tara Cole, who made 42 of 47 extra points and five field goals in 2012.

An all-district soccer player, Cole was encouraged to play in middle school and kept at it.

The challenge or curiosity can lead to participation. So can growing up around or playing that particular sport.

"Just being around my dad," Hudek said. "I was still pretty young when he played, but he owned batting cages. I literally was up there every day and watched other professionals teach other kids, and I was around it all day."

Said John Hudek: "When she was a baby, she literally picked up a baseball, and a friend of ours took a picture of her holding it. And she was holding it with her left hand, so I was like, 'Well … ' "

Up the ladder

Through T-ball and machine pitch and into regular Little League, John couldn't find any danger in letting Sarah continue to play alongside the boys.

And she wasn't just holding her own. She began to excel.

Playing in the Lamar Little League, which sent consecutive teams to Williamsport, Pa., for the Little League World Series, Hudek was on an all-star team that reached the state tournament.

"I've seen her since Little League," said Garrett, an all-star himself. "And ever since then, I didn't think anything was wrong with it, because she's hanging with the guys, and she was doing better than half of them.

"The first time I saw her, she was striking kids out left and right, so I just thought, 'OK, if she can hang, then there's no problem with it.' "

Eventually, Hudek tried softball. Though softball is similar to baseball, the two aren't the same sport, as is the case with boys and girls basketball, soccer, swimming and other sports.

The University Interscholastic League, which governs the state's public schools, doesn't allow boys to participate in girls sports but allows girls to participate in football and baseball.

Different UIL rules

There is no crossing over in sports provided for both genders (i.e., basketball and soccer) unless a school has a boys team but not enough girls for a team. A girl could then try out for the boys team.

"It's more in relation to because there's not a comparable activity," UIL athletic director Mark Cousins said. "Obviously, with baseball and softball, a lot of people say they're comparable activities, but that's not necessarily the case. They are two separate and distinct sports.

"In those situations, it's just something to give kids more opportunities to take part in an activity that they otherwise may not have an opportunity to do."

Hudek became a catcher on her softball team, but it wasn't a fit. The family heard outsiders say she was giving up a chance to earn a scholarship, but it wasn't about that, her father says.

"Her passion for softball was not there at all," John Hudek said.

Added Sarah: "It's a totally different game. It wasn't for me, and I just want to stick to baseball."

Hudek played on a select team after Little League, then earned her spot on the junior varsity before making the varsity.

She grew up with most of her teammates, so being in the program is nothing new.

"There's nothing different - the only thing is she has to change in a different locker room," Garrett said. "Other than that, everything is as if she's just another guy out there. Well, she is another guy out there - she's just a girl."

She doesn't overpower batters - Hudek's fastball is in the mid- to upper 70s and has crept past 80 mph.

It's her location and varying speeds with a changeup and curveball that make Hudek effective on the mound.

Arm strength increase

"Her arm strength has gotten better, but she still knows how to throw the ball for a strike," Kobza said. "There's a lot of men in this sport that get up there, try to throw the ball 100 miles per hour, but they can't put it where they want it.

"The old saying is 'it's about location,' and that's true.

"When you don't have that overpowering stuff, you better put it somewhere, or it's going to get put somewhere else."

Though she's just in her first season on the varsity, Hudek - like most of her teammates - has aspirations to play at the next level. And it's not an impossible dream.

Ghazaleh Sailors is a junior pitcher at the University if Maine at Presque Isle. In 2011, she started on the mound for her high school opposite Marti Sementelli, who played on the USA Baseball women's national team in 2008 and 2010. Sementelli signed with North Carolina's Montreat College out of high school.

Hudek made her mark with the national team in January, participating in the development program. She didn't allow a run in two outings and hit .375 with four walks while playing shortstop and outfield over four games.

If she makes the national team, Hudek has a chance to travel to Japan and participate in the International Baseball Federation Women's World Cup in August.

Another challenge

It's another hurdle for her, even though she's already sped by plenty.

"It's just that thrill and knowing I can show other people I can compete," Hudek said. "I just think of myself as another baseball player. I don't see a difference in me being a girl.

"I know I'm going to get the stares and all that, but it's part of it. I've accepted it and am prepared for anything."